John Cornyn: ‘We have a long, long way to go’ on immigration reform

Despite a bipartisan plan to reform immigration laws, divisions between Democrats and Republicans over citizenship were exposed Wednesday when the Senate Judiciary Committee opened its first hearing on the emotionally charged issue.

Although a bipartisan group of senators have forged a plan to achieve immigration reform, Democrats and Republicans are still working out the nuts and bolts of how and when to provide citizenship to undocumented workers.

Also at issue is when border security goals are reached to trigger legal mechanisms to provide a path to citizenship, something Republican lawmakers insist be part of any legislation.

Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said he expected immigration reform legislation to be written by the committee within the next two months and must include citizenship for the “families who have made the United States their home.”

“I want the pathway to be clear and the goal of citizenship attainable,” Leahy said.

And Leahy said he was concerned that “enforcement first” goals favored by Republicans means “enforcement only.”

But Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, the ranking Republican on the committee, said “an overnight legalization program for millions of lawbreakers is a short-term band-aid, not a long-term solution.”

And in a rebuttal to the chairman, Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., said he worried that citizenship proposals favored by Democrats “really means amnesty only.”

Republicans also accused the Obama administration of failing to enforce immigration laws.

Other criticism included low morale among Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano acknowledged the low morale, but noted that ICE agents have deported more undocumented immigrants than at any other time in history and still face criticism for not deporting all undocumented immigrants.

The hearing was interrupted several times by protestors who shouted “Stop the Deportation” during the proceedings and were removed from the room.

The hearing opened just hours after President Barack Obama used his State of the Union address to prod Congress to tackle immigration reform in order to level the playing field for both workers and employers.

Obama said immigration reform was essential to strengthen the economy and to attract the entrepreneurs and engineers who create jobs.

A House hearing on immigration was held earlier this month.

San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro told Republicans on the panel that a compromise would be granting eventual citizenship to immigrants who earn the right by paying taxes, fines and learning English.